The Ned’s Point beacon stands alone today in a beautiful park at the entrance to Mattapoisett harbor.
The lighthouse residence itself was moved to the Cape Cod location in Bourne after Ned’s Point was decommissioned in 1952. The light itself had a history of a troubled and turmoiled construction for busy navigation and ship safety during high windstorms that sent powerful waves crashing against the surrounding rocky barrier.
Ned’s Point had failed as an example of literary art that was inspiration to the work of Homer, just as my own article and illustration is intended as true reflection of literary legend with a purpose of well-built construction for the safety of its own operation, as well as the otherwise-endangered victims of the crew about to be shipwrecked due to faulty construction in many parts of its engineering.
The construction of the tower had an architectural blemish with a cantilevered granite stairway for all 32 steps embedded in the tower wall without the use of any supporting foundation mortar. After completion, safety inspector Lieutenant Edward W. Cooper found that all the buildings leaked in a rainstorm including the tower’s light system itself, limiting the power of all the 11-lamp system, resulting in limiting the parabolic reflectors to an insufficient distance.
When the tower had trouble getting correctly commissioned in 1952, the keeper’s house was moved on a barge across Buzzards Bay to add to additional residence to Wings Neck Light in Bourne. The record shows that the resident keeper kept himself busy during the entire voyage by preparing his own breakfast to be ready to transfer a continuous residence upon arrival.
The remaining Ned’s Point tower was sold to the Town of Mattapoisett, where it now stands in a beautiful park open to the public with picnic benches overlooking a scenic seaside overview experience.
In 1993, the local Auxiliary Coast Guard improved a program of public access by opening the tower for summer tours arranged by phone (508-756-4100.) Subsequently, the nautical, historic spirit of Ned’s Point Lighthouse has successfully been given a new life worthy of representing Mattapoisett.
By George B. Emmons
